By Woodrow Carroll
Toledo University and Bowling Green University in Ohio are approximately 20 miles apart. The past two weeks, the Toledo Rockets and the Bowling Green Falcons provided Northern Illinois with two important Mid-American Conference (MAC) victories. Each game ended under similar circumstances.
Northern Illinois beat Toledo, 22-20, on the road. The game ended with many Toledo laterals when the Rockets sought desperately to come up with a game-winning touchdown at the buzzer.
Northern Illinois edged Bowling Green, 34-26. Again, when time expired, Bowling Green tossed the ball around laterally and the Falcons attempted to send the game into overtime with a touchdown and a two-point conversion.
Northern Illinois and Toledo are in the MAC West and Bowling Green is in the MAC East. The end result of the past two games left Northern Illinois, 5-2 overall and 3-0 in the MAC, and the lone undefeated team in the Conference.
Clearly, the play of the day in DeKalb was the 100-yard kickoff return by Northern Illinois’ Trayvon Rudolph in the second quarter. Rudolph’s scamper made the score 21-10 in favor of Northern Illinois and the Huskies never left the lead. Rudolph hauled in a 20-yard scoring strike from quarterback Rocky Lombardi in the third quarter.
Lombardi was only four of eight passing for 38 yards. The Huskies’ ground game was led by freshman Jay Ducker which was the story. The little-used Ducker racked up 210 yards rushing on 33 carries to share the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week honors with Western Michigan quarterback Kaleb Eleby.
The Northern Illinois story this year has been surprisingly good. Coming off a 0-6 pandemic-shortened season last year, the Huskies were an unfancied side in the preseason predictions. Now Northern Illinois leads the MAC pack and needs one more victory to become eligible for a bowl game.
The Huskies will be at Central Michigan, Saturday in a noon game of MAC West teams. It promises to be a good game! The sudden success of NIU makes the Huskies a target and the Chippewas of CMU should bring their A game.
The MAC is known as the midweek conference. Following Saturday’s game at Central Michigan, the Huskies will play their final four regular-season games either Wednesday or Tuesday starting with host Kent State Wednesday, Nov. 3.
• University of Illinois did not play Saturday, Oct. 16. Following a 24-0 whitewashing at the hands of Wisconsin the prior week, the Illini have their work cut out for them at 11 a.m. Saturday at Penn State. The Nittany Lions, 5-1, did not play October 16 and were ranked No. 7 in the latest poll. A 23-20 loss at Iowa, October 9, dropped the Nittany Lions from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Penn State is in the Big Ten East Division which features four members of the top 10, Ohio State No. 5, Michigan No. 6, Penn State No,. 7 and Michigan State No. 9. The East Division representative in the Big Ten championship game December 4 in Indianapolis will have earned its way.
Iowa was at the top of the heap prior to losing, 24-7, to Purdue Saturday, Oct. 16. Now ranked No. 11, the Hawkeyes need for Purdue to falter along the way, or, Iowa, once ranked in the top four, might be out of the Big Ten championship game.